Two New York City salesmen were robbed of $500,000 in jewelry by two armed men on Wednesday, police said. The victims, who police declined to identify, had lunch at the Papa John's at 1001 S. Federal Highway in Boynton Beach and were robbed when they walked to their car about 4:15 p.m., police said. One robber carried a gun while the other used a knife, police said. They took a black leather briefcase with about 315 pieces of gold and diamond jewelry. One robber, described as being about 5-foot-8, wore a black long-sleeve shirt, black long pants, black gloves and a hood over his head.

I wanted that dang trophy. Calder Casino & Race Course put together the first media footrace on Saturday (Kentucky Derby) Day, enticing 12 of us with the promise of a $2,500 donation to our charity (mine was the Sun-Sentinel Children's Fund, of course). But then, there was this trophy to the winner. It was approximately the size of your average fourth-grader. Of the 12 of us, I probably put the most preparation into this thing. First of all, I swim-bike-run 6-7 days a week and bust out 8-10 triathlons a year, but I realized a couple of weeks ago that a 100-yard dash ain't the same thing.

Take a walk around Tree Tops Park and learn about the environment. The park, at 3900 SW 100th Ave. in Davie, is sponsoring a new Exotic Walk program on the second Sunday of every month. The first walk is scheduled for 9 a.m., Sunday. Participants will learn about the park's environmental diversity and the problems with non-native, or exotic, plants. Participants are advised to wear sturdy shoes and long pants; they should bring gloves, hand spades and shovels. Pre-registration is required.

A third person in Palm Beach County has tested positive in a preliminary blood test for the mosquito-borne virus St. Louis encephalitis, and 11 other people are showing symptoms of the disease, health officials said. The first of two blood tests on a third patient indicated the presence of the disease, said Dr. Savita Kumar, epidemiologist for the Palm Beach County Public Health Unit. St. Louis encephalitis can affect the central nervous system, often producing flu-like symptoms. In most cases the virus is minor, and people can recover quickly.

Margate police are looking for two men who they say burglarized two homes in a retirement area and assaulted an 80-year-old man who approached the suspects as they were breaking into his house. Both burglaries were committed on Thursday about 9 p.m., and both homes are off Northwest Eighth Street and 73rd Avenue. The victim, whose name police are withholding, was overpowered by the two men. They tied his hands behind his back with pillowcases, stole his wallet, burglarized the house and left.

They're hot as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. After four days of extreme heat and humidity and two cases of heat exhaustion, two prominent caddies protested a policy requiring long pants by wearing shorts off the first tee on Thursday morning. Threatened with expulsion from the grounds by a tournament official, the caddies changed back into long pants on the second tee. But Andy Martinez, caddie for British Open champion Tom Lehman, and Scott Jones, who totes the bag for his brother Steve, the U.S. Open winner, had made their point.

While the city sleeps, some of its night-shift workers carry out important tasks: patrolling the streets; fighting fires; watching the water supply. Along with the nightly dangers encountered after sundown, these workers have to contend with another threat -- night-biting Culex nigripalpus mosquitoes that may carry St. Louis encephalitis. The threat of encephalitis prompted many cities to close parks after dusk, to cancel league softball games, and to issue new rules about how its nighttime workers should do their jobs.

--WHAT IT IS: A statewide outbreak of St. Louis encephalitis this year has been larger than the one in 1977, when 110 cases were confirmed. The disease is spread to humans through mosquito bites. --SYMPTOMS: Fever, headache, stiff neck, confusion, disorientation, tremors, seizures, irritability and sensitivity to light. More severe cases can include convulsions, coma or death. CASES --PALM BEACH COUNTY: Thirteen cases are confirmed and 10 are presumed. --BROWARD COUNTY: Six cases are confirmed and three are presumed.

Our biggest challenge the first week of school was --getting The Kid to school. Well, it really wasn't our challenge - it was the bus driver's. Alternately, the bus was early, on time, or very very late. But by Friday morning, the bus was waiting for him for a change. That pretty much sums up our week because that was the most unpredictable part. The Kid got up each morning at 5 a.m. on his own - except for one time.Another time, he had to wake us up. I think teamwork played a big role in our success.

The outdoor White House basketball court has nothing on Chicago's East Bank Club, where president-elect Barack Obama has been known to shoot hoops. It's cramped - just a half-court - and unusable in bad weather. But change is afoot. "The bowling alley, I understand, offers us some potential for expansion," Obama told Men's Health magazine. An agile pickup player who can drive left but gets pushed around in the paint, Obama favors basketball as his form of exercise. But he'll get in a workout any way he can. That typically involves hitting a fitness center six days a week.

Two New York City salesmen were robbed of $500,000 in jewelry by two armed men on Wednesday, police said. The victims, who police declined to identify, had lunch at the Papa John's at 1001 S. Federal Highway in Boynton Beach and were robbed when they walked to their car about 4:15 p.m., police said. One robber carried a gun while the other used a knife, police said. They took a black leather briefcase with about 315 pieces of gold and diamond jewelry. One robber, described as being about 5-foot-8, wore a black long-sleeve shirt, black long pants, black gloves and a hood over his head.

I think the first clue that I was overdressed for my foray into Puerto Rico's Caribbean National Forest was when I looked down at my guide's feet and discovered he was wearing a pair of plastic clogs that were very clean and very lavender. The second clue was the kid with the suitcase. On a hot and muggy Sunday in late June, I set out for the rain forest more commonly known as El Yunque for what was advertised as a 6 1/2-hour trip of moderate-to-strenuous difficulty.

With Larry Taylor secure as Florida Atlantic's No. 1 receiver, the question was whether Thomas Parker, who started seven games last season, could keep his job opposite Taylor. At this point the answer is no. Brittney Tellis is getting all the snaps with the first team. Tellis caught only two passes last season, but his performance in spring practices moved him past Parker on the depth chart, and it looks like he'll keep it. "He's been really, really impressive," receivers coach Alfredo Roberts said.

Bunny Austin, an outstanding English player who introduced shorts to tennis, died Saturday in a nursing home in Coulsdon, England. He was 94. Short pants or long, Mr. Austin was one of the world's highest-ranked players in the decade before World War II. He and the more-celebrated Fred Perry led Britain to four consecutive Davis Cup championships, defeating France in the challenge round in 1933, the United States in 1934 and 1935, and Australia in...

Q.I have been trying to recall the name of the singer with a big band in the '40s who made a hit of the song Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long. Also, what band was it? Is a recording available? -- Gene Corwin, Boca Raton A.Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long was a parody with words by Milton Berle and Fred Whitehouse of a song titled Lawd, You Made the Night Too Long written by Isham Jones (music) and Sam M. Lewis (words) in 1932. Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long was recorded by Vaughn Monroe's orchestra, with the vocal by Ziggy Talent, on Bluebird in 1940.

Adam Beltrone and Billy Trover just wanted to show Bradley Tyson their fort in the woods behind Oscar Wind Park. The three boys, ages 11, 12 and 13, walked into the dense brush at 6 p.m. Monday, promising their mothers they would be back in 20 minutes. Twelve hours later _ after a frantic search by parents, relatives, teachers, neighbors and police _ the boys wandered out of the wilderness in southwest Sunrise on their own. Sunrise Police Deputy Robert Wilson found them walking along Interstate 75 and drove them home at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.